UERU Spring 2025 UVP Meeting

About

Since its founding in 2000, the Association for Undergraduate Education at Research Universities (UERU) has held biannual Undergraduate Vice Provost/President (UVP) Meetings at member institutions. The Spring 2025 UVP Meeting, June 3-5, will be jointly hosted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University.

UVP meetings provide UERU's core leaders with opportunities for in-person engagement, foster collaboration, and provide forums for discussion of opportunities and challenges in undergraduate education. To maintain their intimate character, participation is generally restricted to UVPs, their designees, and/or one additional senior-level colleague.

Date

Tuesday, June 3, 2025
2:00pm - 8:00pm ET

Wednesday, June 4, 2025
7:30am - 6:30pm ET

Thursday, June 5, 2025
8:00am - 12:00pm ET

Featured Speakers

Ian Waitz

Ian A. Waitz

Vice President for Research 
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Ian A. Waitz is the Jerome C. Hunsaker Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics, brings deep knowledge of MIT to the position. Over more than 30 years, he has served in a wide range of roles across the Institute, where he has made his mark through energy, optimism, persistence, and a commitment to MIT’s mission of using education and innovation to create a better world.

“Ian brings a rare range and depth of understanding of MIT’s research and educational enterprise, our daily operations, our institutional challenges and opportunities, our history and our values — and an unmatched record of solving hard problems and getting big, high-stakes things done well,” Kornbluth wrote. 

“MIT’s research enterprise is a critical part of our mission, not just for the impact that innovation and discovery have on the world, but also for the way it enables us to educate people by giving them problems that no one else has ever solved before,” Waitz says. “That builds a sort of intellectual capacity and resilience to work on really hard problems, and the nation and the world need us to work on hard problems.”

Waitz will step down from his current role as vice chancellor overseeing undergraduate and graduate education, where he was instrumental in advancing the priorities of the Chancellor’s Office, currently led by Melissa Nobles.

In that role, which he has held since 2017, Waitz worked with students, faculty, and staff from across the Institute to revamp the first-year undergraduate academic experience, helped steer the Institute through the Covid-19 pandemic, and led efforts to respond to graduate student unionization. Waitz also led a strategic restructuring to integrate the former offices of the Dean for Undergraduate Education and the Dean for Graduate Education, creating the Office of the Vice Chancellor and leading to a more aligned and efficient organization. And, he spearheaded projects to expand professional development opportunities for graduate students, created the MIT Undergraduate Advising Center, worked to significantly expand undergraduate financial aid, and broadly expanded support for graduate students.

“I think my experience gives me a unique perspective on research and education at MIT,” Waitz says. “Education is obviously an amazing part of MIT, and working with students bridges education and the research. That’s one of the things that’s special about a research university. I’m excited for this new role and to continue to work to further strengthen MIT’s exceptional research enterprise.”

Waitz will be filling a role previously held by Maria Zuber, the E. A. Griswold Professor of Geophysics, who now serves as MIT’s presidential advisor for science and technology policy. Waitz says he’s eager to dive in and work to identify ways to help MIT’s prolific research engine run more smoothly. The move is just the latest example of Waitz leaning into new opportunities in service to MIT.

Prior to assuming his current role as vice chancellor, Waitz served as the dean of the School of Engineering between 2011 and 2017, supporting the school’s ability to attract and support exceptional students and faculty. He oversaw the launch of programs including the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society (IDSS), the Institute for Medical Engineering and Science (IMES), the Sandbox Innovation Fund, and the MIT Beaver Works program with Lincoln Laboratory. He also strengthened co-curricular and enrichment programs for undergraduate and graduate students, and worked with department heads to offer more flexible degrees.

Prior to that, Waitz served as the head of MIT’s Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, where he has been a faculty member since 1991. His research focuses on developing technological, operational, and policy options to mitigate the environmental impacts of aviation. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, a fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and has worked closely with industry and government throughout his career.

“One lesson I’ve learned is that the greatest strength of MIT is our students, faculty, and staff,” Waitz says. “We identify people who are real intellectual entrepreneurs. Those are the people that really thrive here, and what you want to do is create a low-friction, high-resource environment for them. Amazing things bubble up from that.”

Dean Khurana

Rakesh Khurana

Dean
Harvard College

Rakesh Khurana, professor of sociology and organizational behavior at Harvard University and former Faculty Dean of Cabot House, became Danoff Dean of Harvard College on July 1, 2014.

Khurana received his B.S. from Cornell University, and began graduate studies at Harvard in 1993, earning his Ph.D. in 1998 through a joint program between Harvard Business School (HBS) and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS).

Schedule (planned speakers subject to change)

Tuesday, June 3, 2025 (MIT Campus) 

2:00pm - 4:00pm 

UVP 101

  • Steven Girardot, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, Georgia Tech
  • Rachel Holloway, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Academic Affairs, Virginia Tech
  • Beth Loizeaux, Professor Emeritus, Boston University
2:00pm - 4:00pm  UERU Board Meeting
6:00pm - 8:00pm

Opening Reception and Welcome 

  • Nikos Varelas, Senior Vice Provost for Academic Programs, Student Success and Effectiveness, University of Illinois at Chicago; UERU Board President & Chair
  • Kate Weishaar, Senior Program Coordinator, Office of Experiential Learning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Remarks by Melissa Nobles, Chancellor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 

Wednesday, June 4, 2025 (MIT Campus) 

7:30am - 8:30am

Breakfast Buffet

8:30am - 9:15am

Welcome and Opening Remarks

  • Kate Weishaar, Senior Program Coordinator, Office of Experiential Learning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • David Darmofal, Vice Chancellor for Undergraduate and Graduate Education, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Steve Dandaneau, UERU Executive Director and Associate Provost, Colorado State University

9:15am - 10:30am

Session 1: Leading University-Wide Reform in Decentralized Institutions

  • Linda Adler-Kassner, Associate Vice Chancellor of Teaching and Learning, University of California, Santa Barbara
  • Pamela Cheek, Vice Provost for Student Success, University of New Mexico
  • Mollye Demosthenidy, Dean of Newcomb-Tulane College, Tulane University
  • Michael Dennin, Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning, Dean of Undergraduate Education, University of California, Irvine
  • Amie Grills, Associate Provost for Undergraduate Affairs, Boston University
  • Farshid Hajir, Senior Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education, University of Massachusetts Amherst
  • Mark Largent, Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education, Michigan State University
  • Ian F. McNeely, Senior Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
  • Leslie Schwindt-Bayer, Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education, Rice University
  • Jeffrey Shoulson, Dean of Arts and Sciences, Brandeis University
  • Reggie Wilburn, Associate Provost of Undergraduate Affairs, Texas Christian University
  • Moderated by David Darmofal, Vice Chancellor for Undergraduate and Graduate Education, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 

10:30am - 10:45am 

Break

10:45am - 12:00pm 

Session 2: MIT First-Year Grading Policies: Leading Change 

  • Ian Waitz, Vice President for Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 
  • Moderated by Kate Weishaar, Senior Program Coordinator, Office of Experiential Learning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 

12:00pm - 1:30pm 

Lunch and Hot Topics Table Discussions 

1:30pm - 2:30pm 

Session 3: Current Issues in Teaching and Learning 

  • Cammy Abernathy, William H. Wadsworth Director of the Engineering Leadership Institute, Professor of Materials Science & Engineering, University of Florida
  • Jennifer Frederick, Associate Provost for Academic Initiatives, Executive Director of the Yale Poor Center for Teaching and Learning, Yale University
  • Claire Hamilton, Associate Provost and Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning, University of Massachusetts Amherst
  • Matt Kaplan, Executive Director of the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching, University of Michigan
  • Cassandra Volpe Horii, Associate Vice Provost for Education, Director the Center for Teaching and Learning, Stanford University
  • Moderated by Matthew Trevett-Smith, Director of the Center for Teaching & Assessment of Learning, University of Delaware

2:30pm - 3:30pm 

Session 4: Campus and Learning Spaces 

  • Lisa Dorsey, Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education, Saint Louis University
  • Karen McCrindle, Associate Dean for Teaching and Learning, Director of Centre for Teaching and Learning, University of Toronto
  • Gillian Pierce, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education, Harvard University
  • Tammy Wyatt, Senior Vice Provost for Student Success, The University of Texas at San Antonio
  • Moderated by Kate Weishaar, Senior Program Coordinator, Office of Experiential Learning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 

3:45pm - 5:00pm  

Campus Tours at MIT

  • List Visual Arts
  • Makerspace Tour
  • General Campus Tour

6:30pm  

Group dinners in Boston facilitated by UERU

Thursday, June 5, 2025 (Harvard Campus) 

7:45am-8:15am 

Breakfast 

8:00-8:15am 

Welcome  

  • Gillian Pierce, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education, Harvard University

8:15am - 9:15am 

Session 5: On University Leadership 

  • Rakesh Khurana, Dean of Harvard College, Harvard University
  • Moderated by Gillian Pierce, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education, Harvard University

9:15am - 9:30am 

Break 

9:30am - 10:30am 

Session 6: Responding to Rapidly Changing Environments 

  • Dan Berman, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies, Temple University
  • Maria Galli Stampino, Dean of Undergraduate Education, University of Miami
  • Steven Girardot, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, Georgia Tech
  • Amy Goodburn, Senior Associate Vice Chancellor and Dean of Undergraduate Education, University of Nebraska, Lincoln
  • Bob McMaster, Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education, University of Minnesota Twin Cities
  • Karen Paisley, Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs and Senior Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies, University of Utah
  • Hillary Procknow, Assistant Dean and Principal Advisor for Academic Excellence and Texas Honors in the Undergraduate College, The University of Texas at Austin
  • Louie Rodriguez, Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education, University of California, Riverside
  • Akua Sarr, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Academic Affairs, Boston College
  • Patrick Turner, Associate Provost for Student Success and Innovation, Clark Atlanta University
  • Nikos Varelas, Senior Vice Provost for Academic Programs, Student Success, and Effectiveness, University of Illinois at Chicago

10:30-10:45am

Break

10:45am - 11:45am

Session 7: Arts Education, A.I., and World Readiness

  • Sarah Newman, Director of Art & Education, metaLAB at Harvard University
  • Moderated by Gillian Pierce, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education, Harvard University

11:45am -12:00pm 

Concluding Remarks 

  • Steven Dandaneau, Executive Director of UERU and Associate Provost, Colorado State University

12:00pm - 2:00pm  

Break

2:00pm - 4:00pm 

Museum and Library Tours at Harvard (optional) 

REGISTRATION LINK

Register Now

Click the link above to register for the Spring 2025 UVP Meeting

HOTEL INFORMATION

The Godfrey Hotel Boston MA
Photo courtesy of The Godfrey Hotel Boston

UERU has secured a room block at The Godfrey Hotel Boston in the heart of the Downtown Crossing neighborhood and within a few steps of Boston Common, the Freedom Trail, and local opportunities for shopping, dining, and experiencing the history of Boston

Reserve Room

Please use UERU’s booking link to reserve your room at our negotiated group rate of $385 per night plus taxes. The group rate is available through May 12, 2025. This is a busy time in Boston and Cambridge, so we encourage you to book your room as early as possible.

PLANNING COMMITTEE

Thank you to the planning committee for the Spring 2025 UVP Meeting:

  • Kate Weishaar, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Gillian Pierce, Harvard University
  • Tammy Wyatt, The University of Texas at San Antonio
  • Nikos Varelas, University of Illinois at Chicago
  • Hillary Procknow, The University of Texas at Austin
  • Amy Goodburn, University of Nebraska, Lincoln
  • UERU Home Office

For more information, contact Catherine Wilson, UERU Coordinator catherine.m.wilson@colostate.edu